Chair.



C. F. ROTH.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26,1913 RENEWED JAN.20,1915.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

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APPLICATION FILED MAY 26,1913. RENEWED JAN. 20.1915. 1,1 30,021 Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

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CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26 1913. RENEWED JAN.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

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C. F. ROTH.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 1913. RENEWED JAN. 20, 1915.

1,1 30,021 Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

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CFHoTH WWQ M/ CHARLES F. ROTH, OF PILOT GROVE, MISSOURI.

CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

Application filed May 26, 1913, Serial No. 769,982. Renewed January 20, 1915. Serial No. 3,375.

To all 10. 1.0711 it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES F. ROTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pilot Grove, in the county of Cooper and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chairs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved chair operating apparatus and has for its )rimary object to provide mechanism wherey a plurality of foldable chairs arranged in an auditorium may be simultaneously folded whereby passage to the exits of the theater or other building is made easy of access.

The invention has for another and more specific object the provision of a chair consisting of spaced side frames, one of which is movable toward the other, a seat hingedly mounted upon said side frames and connecting the same, and electrically controlled mechanism geared to the movable side frame of each chair whereby the same are moved in unison to their folded positions with relation to the stationary side frames.

The invention has for still another of its objects the provision of mechanism geared to the movable section of the chair, a motor for actuating said mechanism, an electric circuit, a reversing switch in said circuit and a connection between the movable element of said switch and the movable section of the chair, means being included in the circuit to reverse the operation of said mechanism when the movable switch element is actuated.

Still another object of my invention is to provide chair operating mechanism whereby a large number of chairs may be simultaneously folded or moved to their open positions, said mechanism being comparatively simple in its construction, durable and efficient in practical operation, and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

\Vith the above and other objects in view, this invention consists in the novel features of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, pointed out in the claims and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view, the chair being omitted; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one of the chairs and a section of an adjacent chair showing the actuating shaft and the manner of gearing the same to the movable chair sections; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the chairs, the same being folded; Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic View illustrating the operating circuit; and Figs. 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views illustrating a common arrangement of chairs in a theater or other auditorium, showing the same in their open and folded positions respectively.

I will first describe the detailed construction of the chair which I have designed for use in connection with my improved operating mechanism whereby the chairs are automatically folded, and then set forth the particular construction of the operating mechanism and the manner of its connection with a plurality of chairs. Attention, then, is first directed to Figs. 2, 3 and 4.- of the drawings wherein 5 designates the stationary side frame of the chair and 6 the movable side frame. Each of these frames consists of a pair of legs 7, which are connected adjacent their lower ends by the rods 8. The upper ends of the legs 7 are angularly disposed to form the side rails 9 of the chair back. The legs 7 are further connected by means of the transverse rods 10, upon which the seat 11 is mounted. To the other side of this seat parallel metal straps 12 are secured, the ends of said straps being provided with sleeves 13 which are loosely engaged upon the connecting rods 10. These sleeves are held against longitudinal movement upon the rods 10 by means of the collars 14 which are fixed to said rods. ()ne of the inclined bars or rails 9 of the chair back is connected to the stationary front legs 7 by means of the curved arm 15. The inclined back arm 9 of the stationary chair frame is connected to the corresponding portion of the movable side frame by means of a plurality of bars or rails 16 which are pivotally connected to the inclined bars 9, as shown at 17. The lower ends of the legs 7 of the movable chair section are provided with suitable cushioning blocks 18 whereby noise is practically eliminated in moving the movable chair section to its open position by engagement of the legs with the floor.

The connectin rod 8 between the legs of the stationary c air section is mounted at its ends to rotate in suitable bearing sleeves 19, which are fixed to the chair legs. To this rotatable rod, a pair of bars 20 are fixed at one of their ends. These bars are preferably bent at an angle from point intermediate of their ends and have their other ends loosely engaged upon the connecting rod 8 between the legs of the movable chair section. A. gear segment ll fixed to or integrally formed with the end of each of the bars 20 which is secured to the rotatable rod 8. An arm 22 is .lso fixed to this red, the purpose of which will he later explained.

d indicates the floor beneath which the major part of the chair operating mechanism is arranged. In suitable hanger hearings 23 secured to the under side of the floor B, a plurality of shafts 24. are jour naled, said shafts being flexibly connected to each other at their ends by means of the knuckles or universal joints 25. To each of the shaft sections 2% adjacent its opposite ends a gear 26 is fixed. These gears are provided with spiral teeth for engagement With the teeth of the spiral gears 27, which are mounted upon the stub shafts 28. These latter gears project through openings 29 in the floor I) at the proper points and mesh with the spiral gears 30, which are loosely mounted upon the ends of the shafts 31. One of the shafts 31 is mounted in suitable bearings 32 beneath the rotatable rod 8 of each chair. To the shaft 31. a pair of spur ears 33 are fixed for engagement with the teeth of the gear segments 21 on the ends of the bars 20. The spiral gear 30 is normally locked upon the shaft 31 by means of a clutch member 3 t which is keyed upon said shaft and is yieldingly held in engagement ith the clutch face of the gear by means of a heavy spring which bears at one end against the clutch membe' and at its other end against one of the shaft bearings 32. The clutch member 34 is provided with an annular groove to receive the arms of the yoke formed upon one end of a lever 36, the other end of which is pivotally connected to one arm of a bell crank lever 37, This lever is fulcrumed as at 38 upon one of the stationary supporting legs of the chair and the other arm thereof is provided with a suitable foot plate.

As shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, when the chair is folded the movable section thereof lies in close proximity to the stationary section and is elevated so that the same extends above the upper ends of the back rails 9 of the stationary chair section. By angularly bending the connecting bars 20 from a point intermediate of their ends. the close folding of the connecting link bars 16 is permitted. Thus it will be apparent that by means of my improved chair, the same will occupy a minimum of space when folded. thus leaving a maximum of unobstructed floor space so that the occupants may quickly reach the exits of the building in case of fire or other extremity. It will further be noted that when folded, the entire weight of the movable members of the chair is disposed upon one side of the axis of the rotary shaft or rod 3. The gear elements are locked against casual movement by means of the clutch member 3t, but the chairs may be readily disposed in their open positions by an usher. when directing p sons to their seats. by simply pressing upon the outwardly extending arm of the lever 37 with his foot. so as to disengage the teeth of the clutch member 34 from the clutch face of the gear 30. The weight of the movable parts of the chair will immediately cause the same to descend until the foot members 18 rest upon the floor. shown in Fig. 3- of the drawings. the clutch member 34 locks the gear 30 upon the s .aft 31 to rotate said shaft in a directionv to ele rate the movable parts of the chair. I will now proceed to describe the mechanism whereby the chairs are folded.

The electric motor 40 is geared to one end I of a shaft To this shaft a pair of spur gears 42 and 43 respectively are fixed. A second shaft 4- is iournaled in suitable supporting hearings to and is disposed in para lel relation to the shaft 41. Upon the shaft it. the gears l6 and i7 respectively are loosely mounted. Each of these gears is provided with a cylindrical hub or extension l8 and 49 respecthrely, said extensions projecting toward each other and being each provided with a friction clutch face for engagement by a double acting clutch member 50. This clutch member is keyed upon the shaft 44 for longitudinal sliding movement and the arms of the yoke 51 are loosely engaged in an annular groove centrally provided in the clutch member. This yoke is fixed to one end of the movable armature 52 mounted in a supporting bearing 53. Electromagnets 34 are arranged adjacent the op posite ends of the movable armature to attract the same when energized and slide the clutch member 50 in either direction to lock the gear 46 or the gear 47 upon the shaft 44. designates a reversing pinion arranged between the gears 4'3 and +6 and meshing therewith. The gears 43 and 47 have direct meshing engagement with each other. To one end of the shaft 44, a spiral gear 56 is secured. said gear meshing with a similar gear 57 on the shaft 58. This latter gear engages the teeth of a similar gear which is fixed upon the actuating shaft 24. This power transmitting gearing is identical with that which connects the shafts 31 and 24.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 5 of the drawings, 59 and 0 designate the opposed stationary contacts of the reversing switch. This switch may be of any approved form and construction. but the knife type is preferably employed. 1 designates the movable element or knife blade of the switch which is mounted upon the shaft 62 projecting from an arm 63. Upon this shaft, the arm 61 is mounted and is connected by the rod or bar 65 with the arm 22 which is fixed upon the rotatable shaft or rod 8. A dynamo or other suitable current supply source 66 is connected by feed wires 67 with one side of the field of the motor 40. The other side of the motor field is connected by a wire 68 to the movable element or knife 61 of the reversing switch. The magnets 54 are connected in series by means of a. wire 69 to the dynamo 66, a switch 70 being arranged to interrupt the flow of current through the supply wires 69. ires 71 and 72 connect the armature of the opposed magnets 5-1: with the respective stationary contacts 59 and 60 of the reversing switch. In each of these circuit wires a switch 73 is located. 74 designates a slab of insulating material upon which the stationary contacts of the reversing switch are mounted,suitable binding posts 75 being arranged in the insulating slab for the connection of the circuit wires. Assuming that the reversing switch is in the condition shown in Fig. 5 and the chairs are folded,the operator closes the switch 73 located in the wire 72, thus closing the' circuit from the dynamo 66 through the wire 69 and one of the magnets 54, then through wire 71, contact 59 and the switch blade 61, wire 68 to the motor field and through the motor field and wire 67 back to the dynamo. The magnet 54 is thus energized and the clutch member 50 moved to lock the gear 47 upon the shaft 44. Thus in the operation of the motor, power is transmitted through. the engaged gears 43 and. 47 and shaft 44 to the chair actuating shaft 24. This shaft is rotated to rotate the gear 30 upon the end of the shaft 31 of each chair, thereby disengaging said gears from the clutches 3st and permitting the movable parts of the chairs to move downwardly by gravity to their open positions. When both of the switches 73 are open, the operating mechanism of course isineffective. When the movable parts of the chair reach their open positions, the connecting rod or bar 65 through the medium of the rotating rod or shaft 8 actuates the movable element 61 of the switch and reverses its position so that it engages the contact 60. By now closing the other of the switches 78, the circuit is closed from the dynamo 66, the wire 69 through the armaturc'of the other magnet 54. then through wires 72, contact 60 and switch plate 61, through wire 68 to the motor field and out rom the motor field through the wire 67 lvack to the dynamo. The energization of the magnet 64 reverses the movement of the cl tch 50 and engages the same with the clutch face of the other gear 46, thereby locking the shaft 47 so that motion is transmitted thereto from the motor through the gears 42 and 55. It will be obvious that the rotation of the actuating shaft 2% is thus reversed and as the gear 30 is locked upon each of the shafts 31 by the clutch member 3%. the movable parts of the chair are elevated to their closed positions, as shown in Fig. 4.

In Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings, I have shown an arrangement of chairs in a theater or other auditorium which is very commonly adopted. In such arrangement, a plurality of connected shaft sections 24 may be provided for each row of chairs and the end sections geared to a common transmission shaft which in turn is geared to the motor by means of the mechanism above described.

Many other arrangements of the chairs and the power transmission gearing therefor might be devised and it will be understood that the present invention is not limit ed to any specific manner of arrangement of the chairs or the actuating shafts 24 therefor. However, for the purpose in view, it is believed that the arrangement of the chairs, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 gives the best results. It will be observed that each row of chairs describes a portion of a circle. R indicates the rear end of. the theater or hall and F the front or stage end. By reference to Fig. 7 it will thus be seen that when the chairs are all folded, a series of comparatively wide aisles leading from the front to the rear end or exits of the auditorium are provided. In case of fire or other calamity, the audience would impulsively rise to its feet. One of the attendants would then close the proper switch 73 so that all of the chairs would be immediately folded, and as said chairs, when folded,have their narrow dimensions disposed at right angles to the length of the aisle, they would offer little or no interference with the movement of persons through the numerous aisles. The exits of the theater could therefore, be quickly reached and injury and possible loss of life averted.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and manner of operation of my improved chair and operating mechanism therefor. will be clearly and fully understood. When the operating circuit is closed, all of the chairs are instantly and simultaneously opened or folded to their closed positions, as the case may be. The chairs may also be independently moved to their open positions b an attendant and by the provision of the numerous aisles afforded by the sidewise folding of the chairs, a large aud ence can be quickly seated.

The cost of installation incident to the ado tion of my invention will be comparatively small when the numerous advantages accruing thereto are considered.

As all the elements employed are of simple form, it. will be obvious that the invention will be extremely strong and: durable and serviceable in practical use;

\Vhile I have describedin the foregoing the preferred arrangement and construction of the parts, it is to be understood that numerous modifications are contemplated and I reserve the right to resort to all such legitimate changes as may be embodied within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. The combination with a plurality of chairs each having a stationary side frame and a movable side frame, the movable frame being movable by gravity to its open position, of means for simultaneously moving the movable side frames of said chairs to their folded positions and means for independently releasing the side frames from connection with said operating means for movement by gravity to their open positions.

2. The combination with a chair having stationary and movable side frames, and means for moving the movable side frame into folded relation to said stationary frame, said means including a releasable element to disconnect the movable frame from said operating means and permit of its movement to its open position.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES F. ROTH.

\Vitnesses M. C. LYDDANE, E. L. WHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D, C. 

